Just Say No...To Ineffectual Drugs

I have discovered the reason I don't like pain meds is because I've never taken GOOD pain meds. 

I have been faithfully "staying ahead of the pain" by taking the Tramadol I had left over from the tram flap surgery. The reason it was left over was twofold: I didn't really have that much pain, unless I was transitioning from sitting/lying to standing or vice versa, in which case the meds didn't help, and the Tramadol made me jumpy and kept me awake. Hence, the nearly full bottle of it in the cabinet.


Now, the most important post-op instruction (it's even highlighted on my instruction sheet) is, and I quote, "DO NOT BECOME CONSTIPATED!!!" Then they give you opiates that are constipating. Quite a Catch 22. So I have been drinking plenty of fluids, eating Fiber One bars and fruit, taking stool softeners, and.... nothing. And since doing "something" is stressed as being very important, I had to bring in the big guns and take a laxative.


It was after midnight, I was wide awake, thanks to the Tramadol, and "something" finally happened. I had done my research. I had read my post-op instructions. I was completely aware that "something" going past fresh stitches was not going to be fun. I was NOT, however, prepared for everything to go black....


I got my head down between my knees before I completely lost consciousness. And I thought I had a high pain tolerance! When I finally got myself together enough to go back to bed, it very nearly happened again, but I was close enough to the bed that I fell onto it before I hit the floor. Spent the rest of the night lying verrrrrry stilllllll and got very little sleep.


Since the Tramadol was pretty much a fail for me, I decided to kick it up a notch (or two or ten). When I had my ablation and d&c, Dr. Lacey prescribed Oxycodone for me. That procedure was so not a big deal that I didn't even open the bottle, but I saved it for a rainy day. And it's a metaphoric downpour today!


Know what? I liiiiiiike Oxycodone! I still have pain, but I don't give a rat's ass about it now. My arms and legs feel as though they are attached with rubber bands, my brain feels all happy and fuzzy, and I don't think I could lift my arms above my head right now if my life depended on it. 

Time to float away now and enjoy this silver lining to a rather crappy procedure (pun intended)....